#2 How To Clean Your Work Surface
My Ergo Mania Admin - April 1, 2021
Just when you thought you couldn’t have more work safety policies… Covid-19 happened! I’m a big fan of keeping things simple for employers and employees when it comes to safety policies. When implementing a new safety policy, THE SIMPLER THE BETTER! Making things simple for both parties will alleviate stress to implement, execute and ADHERE.
New guidelines from both federal and provincial government have had employers responding by keeping their employees working from home, minimizing the amount of employees allowed in the work space, or alternating days some can go into work. With some provinces are loosening the reigns on office spaces, safety is still held at a very high standard! Cleaning the work equipment is now at the forefront of work safety for office workers.
This is what got me asking myself what is the proper way to clean electronic products without damaging them? Can the products really be squeaky clean? What products are the easiest to clean? How can the cleaning process of the work space not completely unbearable and efficient?
Keyboard
If you’re like me and an air compressor was your only go to for cleaning your keyboard due to its quick and fun use, you might want to reconsider your cleaning habits. The reality of it is that it only helps take the dust off that will trap bacteria and not disinfect your keyboard. I know how sad!
Don’t worry we did you a favour and did research on the most efficient way to clean your keyboard when it is not a waterproof one.
Here is a step by step to make sure you clean your keyboard quickly, properly and safely:
Step 1: Air compressor (if you have one), if not you can use a soft toothbrush to get rid of the dust bunnies or mid-day snacks.
Step 2: Use a disinfectant wipe. A research showed that there was no significant difference between peroxygen (AHP), alcohol, quaternary ammonium (QAC)-based wipes (Wong te al, 2020). And that all of them were successful in cleaning a keyboard from bacteria.Make sure that the product that you use to clean your keyboard is not one that will irritate your skin. (Bleach would not be a good solution).
Step 3: Let dry or take a microfiber cloth to dry off your keyboard before using it.
If these 3 steps are too much for you, opt to get yourself a washable keyboard that is waterproof with antimicrobial material. In my opinion that is the easiest solution.
Mouse
The computer mouse is another product that you use often and touch daily for work. For this one when you clean it make sure to enable the clicking function or unplug it. You don’t want to end up losing work or messing up a document that you worked hard on.
You can use the same 3 steps as the keyboard cleaning protocol and you can also opt to get yourself a waterproof ergonomic mouse if you want to save yourself the trouble.
Desk Surface
I will not let you know how to clean your desk surface since there are a lot of different work surfaces that all require different ways to clean. Usually you can find out what cleaning products work best for your desk in its manual.
That said, I will give you tips on how to minimize your time cleaning this large surface.
- Make sure that your papers are in order and not everywhere on your desk.
- Get rid of all of the unnecessary clutter on your desk. In a perfect world you would have your keyboard, mouse, monitor and other accessories mandatory for your work only on your desk. (Yes a plant is mandatory).
- Use skin friendly products.
Chair
If you share a desk with co-workers, this means that you also share a chair. You most likely don’t have the same settings as your co-worker so make sure to clean the handles that adjust the chair.
I hope this helped you! If you have any questions send us an email or call us!
ErgoMania Team
Wong, E. K., Burgess, B. A., Brainard, B. M., Greene, C. E., Hurley, D. J., & Koenig, A. (2020). The comparative efficacy of disinfectant wipes on common-use computer keyboards in a veterinary teaching hospital. The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne, 61(1), 69–74.